The Capital of Gridlock

Megacities

By Hannah Beech/BangkokFriday, Feb. 08, 2008

Philip Blenkinsop / NOOR FOR TIME

Cyclists and motorist on the streets of Bangkok, Thailand circa March, 2008.

As a Bangkok traffic policeman, Phichet Wisetchoke carries the usual tools of his trade: a baton, a sheaf of tickets, a mask to repel smog--and a tiny umbilical-cord clamp. Traffic in Thailand's capital snarls with such ferocity that hundreds of women over the past few years have been forced to give birth in cars. So the Royal Thai Traffic Police has trained 145 of its officers in basic midwifery. Phichet, who carries bundles of gauze and an aspirator to clear newborns' noses, has delivered nine babies in traffic--two in February alone. "I wanted to be a policeman because I thought it...